• A vesicle-mediated transport process that results in the engulfment of external particulate material by phagocytes and their delivery to the lysosome. The particles are initially contained within phagocytic vacuoles (phagosomes), which then fuse with primary lysosomes to effect digestion of the particles.
  Gene Ontology Dictionary
  Gene Ontology Consortium, 2021
• Engulfing of microorganisms, other cells, and foreign particles by phagocytic cells (phagocytes).
  CRISP Thesaurus
  National Institutes of Health, 2006
• The engulfing and degradation of microorganisms; other cells that are dead, dying, or pathogenic; and foreign particles by phagocytic cells (PHAGOCYTES).
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• The process by which a phagocyte (a type of white blood cell) surrounds and destroys foreign substances (such as bacteria) and removes dead cells.
  NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• The process by which phagocytes engulf and digest microorganisms and cellular debris; an important defense against infection.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Phagocytosis, process by which certain living cells called phagocytes ingest or engulf other cells or particles. The phagocyte may be a free-living one-celled organism, such as an amoeba, or one of the body cells, such as a white blood cell. In some forms of animal life, such as amoebas and...
  Encyclopedia Britannica
  Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025